Puranaanooru 82 – As fast as a labourer’s hand

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In this episode, we perceive the brevity of a battle with a striking simile, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 82, penned about the Chozha King Poravai Kopperunarkilli by the poet Saathanthaiyaar. The verse is set in the category of ‘Vaagai Thinai’ or ‘King’s victory’ and describes how soon a fierce fight ended.

சாறு தலைக்கொண்டென, பெண் ஈற்று உற்றென,
பட்ட மாரி ஞான்ற ஞாயிற்று,
கட்டில் நிணக்கும் இழிசினன் கையது
போழ் தூண்டு ஊசியின் விரைந்தன்று மாதோ
ஊர் கொள வந்த பொருநனொடு,
ஆர் புனை தெரியல் நெடுந்தகை போரே!

Here’s another song celebrating the impressive victory of this Chozha king. The poet’s words can be translated as follows:

“As he had to help out at the village festival at the same time his wife was about to give birth, as rain clouds poured down at dusk, with immense haste the hand of a skilled labourer stitching a cot moved as it swirled the needle to sew the leather straps. That was the speed with which the fight of the esteemed king, wearing bauhinia garlands, with the enemy king who came to capture his town, ended!”

Time to delve into the nuances. This song is all about a single, powerful simile. The poet takes us to another place and time and imagines a situation, where there is a labourer, who has to be at the town centre, helping with the festival preparations, while at home, his wife is about to go into labour. He has the responsibility that his work demands of him and at the same time, he has to support his wife as she delivers his baby. Not only these internal pressures but also there’s the external pressure of time and weather, with the sun setting and rains pouring down as well. In this situation, zoom on to that labourer’s hand as it moves up and down stitching the leather strap of the cot, the poet instructs us. No doubt with so much tugging at him, those hands will move with great speed to finish the work at hand. 

Now, the poet transfers that speediness to the time it took for this bauhinia-clad king to end his battle with his opponent, who came with the intention of capturing that king’s town. Remarkable how the poet seamlessly stitches in this song of a king’s victory, the sweet fact of how in Sangam times, the husband assisted in the delivery of his wife. Until recently, men did not even come near their women during childbirth, leaving it to midwives, and later, to nurses and doctors. But here is an instance of how this Sangam man felt it as his unshakeable duty to be present with his wife at the moment of his child’s birth. Heartening to savour this slice of life and birth amidst all the blood and war of these ‘Puram’ verses!